Scratch-off lottery tickets (also referred to as “instant” lottery tickets) are well-known in the industry and have become a staple lottery product the world over. These tickets are typically mass produced in a high-speed production line that includes printing stations to provide the tickets with multi-colored and aesthetically pleasing graphics that are appealing to consumers.
Lottery jurisdictions and ticket manufacturers have strict security requirements with respect to scratch-off lottery tickets. The various ink layers and security layers printed onto the paper stock are engineered to prevent fraudulent attempts to discern the game data underlying the scratch-off coating layer or manipulate/alter the game data. The tickets are subjected to various testing protocols, such ultra-violet and infrared analysis, liquid chromatography, and microscopy and wet chemistry processes.
The security aspects must be balanced with the need to print the tickets at a relatively high rate and with the graphics and details that will appeal to consumers. In this regard, typical inkjet-based lottery ticket production lines run at a maximum rate of about 900 ft./min and at a resolution of about 240 dpi.
A limiting factor to increasing the throughput and resolution of these lines has been that the commercially available inks specifically formulated for these lines did not produce satisfactory tickets. For example, Eastman Kodak Company (Graphic Communications Group) of Dayton, Ohio, USA, offers a PROSPER S-series CMYK inkjet printing system having 600 dpi resolution capability and advertised production rates of up to 1,000 ft/min using specially formulated pigment-based dyes. However, the present Assignee/Applicant of this patent application found the PROSPER S-series system and associated inks not suitable for producing acceptable scratch-off lottery tickets at a 600 dpi resolution and at a press speed that was commercially feasible. The inks would not adequately dry at the desired press speeds, and would pick off of the tickets and track onto the processing rollers. The tickets routinely failed the wet chemistry security tests and were unusable.
Kodak offers a selection of dye based inks for the PROSPER S-series system formulated for high-speed (up to 3000 fpm) and high dpi (600×600). However, these inks are a low cost option for applications where water-fastness and permanence is of less importance, and are believed not suitable for the strict security requirements of scratch-off lottery tickets.
Also, at least by 2014, dye-based inks were advertised specifically for printing scratch-off lottery tickets. For example, Collins Inkjet of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, offered a dye-based ink designed to print on scratch-off lottery tickets known as SUPERFAST Black (TWK-1961H). This ink was advertised as producing a high quality, scan-able image that dries well on coated and non-coated substrates and provides adequate decap time and little maintenance. Assignee/Applicant is not aware, however, of use of these dyes to successfully print scratch-off lottery tickets at a 600 dpi resolution at press speeds in excess of 950 ft./min.
The ability to print secure, high resolution scratch-off lottery tickets at significantly higher press speeds than are currently achieved would be a significant benefit to the lottery industry.